The Toronto Maple Leafs have a key offseason coming up, and there may be some big changes on the way. Leafs general manager Brad Treliving indicated that the roster may need a shake-up after another relatively short stint in the postseason.
The 2024-25 Maple Leafs were one win away from getting over the playoff hump and reaching the conference finals for the first time since 2002. However, Toronto blew a 2-0 series lead to the Florida Panthers and got blown out in Game 7 of the second round.
In his end-of-season press conference, Treliving said Toronto will need some new “DNA” in 2025-26.
“There’s some DNA that has to change in our team,” Treliving said. “If you keep getting to the same result — and that’s not to dismiss a lot of the good that happened up to it. When you keep getting the same result, there’s some DNA that needs to change.”
For close to a decade now, the Maple Leafs have relied upon their “Core Four,” which consists of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares. They’ve done a lot of winning in the regular season but have won just two playoff series.
Two of those players, Marner and Tavares, are now set to become unrestricted free agents. On top of that, Matthew Knies is slated to be a restricted free agent after a breakout season in which he scored 29 goals and added 29 assists.
It will be hard for Toronto to keep everyone around, especially given the salary cap constraints and fan pressure to make notable changes following another long offseason. The Maple Leafs have already chosen to part ways with president Brendan Shanahan, and now all eyes turn to the roster.
As hard as it may be to keep everyone together, especially with the price Marner could command on the open market after a 100-point season, Toronto should make a run at it. That may not be the most popular decision, but between a poor free agent market and a lack of draft capital, it may be the most prudent move.
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